memeorandum: THAT'S A CONTEST WE CAN BELIEVE IN (Josh Marshall/Talking Points Memo)

7:50 PM ET, December 9, 2008

Top Items:

Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship — “Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today,” said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, JammieWearingFool, Think Progress, Weekly Standard, Marc Ambinder, Sister Toldjah, Taegan Goddard's …, Commentary, Associated Press, Hot Air, RedState, TigerHawk, Flopping Aces, Hullabaloo, Right Wing Nut House, CANNONFIRE, NewsBusters.org and Brian Beutler

Chicago Breaking News:

Blagojevich arrested on federal charges — Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald called a “staggering” level of corruption involving pay-to-play politics in Illinois' top office.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, Clout St, Mere Rhetoric, CNN, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, James Finn Garner, Guardian, Stop The ACLU and Gawker

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Chicago reporter suggests Rahm Emanuel may have ‘tipped’ off federal investigators about Blagojevich.» — Marcy Wheeler catches local Chicago press reporting that Rahm Emanuel may have tipped off federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was engaging in corrupt acts.

Discussion: CNN, Minnesota Independent, TPM Election Central, Emptywheel, Gawker, Don Surber and Wonkette

Marc Ambinder:

Blago Indictment: Who Is Senate Candidate 5? — Gov. Blagojevich's own words make it clear that he did not believe that Barack Obama wanted a person called “Senate Candidate 5” to be appointed to the Senate. … In other words — if Blago doesn't get what he wanted, then he'd stiff the PEOTUS …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Chicago Sun Times, The Capitol Fax Blog, The New Republic, Emptywheel, Gawker, ArchPundit, Eunomia and DownWithTyranny!

Chicago Tribune:

Blagojevich's Senate selection process investigated — Federal probe widens to Obama's vacant seat — UPDATE: Source: Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody — A source said today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.

Discussion: WLS-TV, Associated Press, Chicago Breaking News, The Politico, TPMMuckraker, Gates of Vienna, Clout St, MoJoBlog, USA Today, MSNBC, Firedoglake, Top of the Ticket, About.com US Politics, Thoughts of a Regular Guy, The Swamp, Think Progress and culturekitchen

New York Times:

Illinois Governor in Corruption Scandal — CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.

Discussion: The Politico, The Swamp, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Smoking Gun, ABCNEWS, The New Republic, The Crypt's Blogs, The Caucus, Buck Naked Politics, Gateway Pundit, The Moderate Voice, Ross Douthat, Megan McArdle and The Heretik

WBBM-TV:

Details Of Complaint Against Blagojevich — CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: — Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging …

Discussion: Associated Press, Fox News, NewsBusters.org, The New Republic, Michelle Malkin, Washington Monthly, The Volokh Conspiracy, Wizbang, CANNONFIRE and 24Ahead

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Blago calls Obama “motherf—er” — The tapes reveal a two-term governor who no longer wants his job, badly wants cash and is determined to leverage a financial benefit out of his appointment powers. — He also appears to think little of the president-elect, whom he calls a “motherf***er” at one point.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Swamp and The Field on the Narcosphere

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

Attorney: Blagojevich has no plans of resigning — CHICAGO— The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and he has no plans to resign. — “He didn't do anything wrong,” attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich was arraigned.

Discussion: The Politico, The Huffington Post, Chicago Breaking News, Associated Press, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Reuters and TIME.com

Chicago Breaking News:

Lt. Gov. Quinn urges Blagojevich to ‘step aside’ — Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn today called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to step aside, at least temporarily, because the governor is “seriously impeded from carrying out his oath of office.” — “I think that should certainly be considered by the governor today.

Discussion: TPM Election Central, FiveThirtyEight.com, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and BuzzFlash.org

CNN:

Durbin wants special election to replace Obama — (CNN) — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday he wants a special election called to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. — At a press conference with reporters on Capitol Hill, Durbin said he wants the Illinois legislature …

Discussion: A1 WBBM Local Stories, The Fix, MSNBC, Firedoglake and Taylor Marsh

Chicago Tribune:

Statement from Gerould Kern, editor of the Chicago Tribune — Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at the Tribune Tower on Monday for an interview at CNN's Chicago office. (Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / December 8, 2008) — The Chicago Tribune investigated allegations of misconduct involving Illinois …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, On Deadline, Political Machine, TPMMuckraker, The Raw Story, Emptywheel and Guardian

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Source: ‘SEIU official’ was Stern — A Democratic source confirms that SEIU President Andy Stern is the “SEIU official” referred to in the federal complaint against Rod Blagojevich. — There's no allegation that the SEIU official did anything wrong, and what appears to be a wiretap transcript …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Firedoglake, The Swamp and Marc Ambinder

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

‘Senate Candidate 5’ — Capitol Fax's Rich Miller updates the state of the speculation on the identity of “Senate Candidate 5,” the public official who — from the complaint — appears to be in the most jeopardy, aside from Blagojevich and Harris. “Senate Candidate 5.”

Discussion: The Capitol Fax Blog and Reuters

Ron Kampeas / JTA:
Blagojevich arrest could send Jewish rep to Senate

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation

Jonathan Martin / Ben Smith's Blogs: Blago wanted to shake down Warren Buffett

Katie Allison Granju:
Note to President-Elect Obama: just tell the truth

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs

Michaelscherer / Swampland:
BlagoGate: Obama's Burden

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Chicago Business, Kevin Drum, Hot Air, Political Punch and RedState

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
What the transition knew

Discussion: The Hill, The New Republic, Associated Press, JustOneMinute, The Swamp, Marc Ambinder and The Crypt's Blogs

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
A GUIDE TO THE CANDIDATES. — There are six candidates named …

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, Chicago Sun Times, The Opinionator, NO QUARTER, ATTACKERMAN, The Volokh Conspiracy and The New Republic

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo: AMAZING — Even setting aside the primordial level of corruption …

Marc Ambinder: Blago Indictment And The Obama Team

Jonathan Stein / MoJoBlog:
So. Who Will Appoint the Next Illinois Senator?

Discussion: I Don't Like You Either and Wall Street Journal

Edwin Eisendrath / The Huffington Post:
Now, Finally, We Can Clean Up This State

Discussion: The Hill and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Chicago Sun Times:
Charges: Illinois Governor Blagojevich shook down the Chicago Tribune

Discussion: Braublog

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Blagojevich Criminal Complaint: The Best of the Best

Discussion: Washington Post and Weekly Standard

Jeffrey Toobin In / New Yorker: HOT SEAT — Otto Kerner, Jr., is usually remembered …

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Blago Can Still Make The Appointment

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight.com

Newsdesk / Clout St:
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. touts Senate credentials to Blagojevich

Discussion: The Hill's Pundits Blog and Washington Post

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Joe the Plumber: McCain ‘appalled me’ — Joe Wurzelbacher lashed out at former GOP presidential nominee John McCain Tuesday, the man who made Wurzelbacher famous as “Joe the Plumber.” — Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that he felt “dirty” after “being on the campaign trail …

Marist Poll:

Voters Weigh In: Cuomo and Kennedy Deadlocked for Clinton Seat — High Hopes for Secretary of State Clinton — This Marist Poll reports: — · Cuomo and Kennedy Tie...More Than a Quarter of Voters Unsure About Clinton's Replacement: While much of the buzz …

Discussion: The Fix, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and TIME.com

Ross Douthat:
The Case For Caroline? — After allowing that her head tells her to …

Discussion: City Room, NY Daily News, The Heretik, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Hot Air

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... A new national poll from CNN/Opinion Research Corporation finds 79% of Americans approve of the job Barack Obama has done so far. That's probably not too significant — this is still the transition period, when exercising one's limited authority is a lot easier — but 79% is still a pretty solid number.

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Poll: 8 in 10 give Obama thumbs-up on transition

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Michael Tarm / Associated Press:

Workers win a big round in Chicago factory sit-in — CHICAGO - The creditor of a Chicago plant where laid-off employees are conducting a sit-in to demand severance pay said Tuesday it would extend limited loans to the factory so it could resolve the dispute, but the workers declared their protest unfinished.

Discussion: MyDD and Hullabaloo

Scarecrow / Firedoglake:
Who Needs Republic's Window Manufacturing Workers? The Whole Country.

Discussion: Chicago Breaking News

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

A tip from Rahm? — Jack Connaty, of Chicago's Fox affiliate, reported this morning: — We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the Governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect's chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat.

Discussion: The Heretik and Democracy in America

CNN:

Court: Craig can't withdraw sex-sting plea — (CNN) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's effort to withdraw his guilty plea to a misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in connection with a sex-sting operation. — “Because we see no abuse …

Discussion: TalkLeft and Washington Monthly